Educational Science

Brain signals underlying chronic pain could be 'short-circuited,' study suggests

People with chronic pain are often asked to rate their discomfort on a crude 10-point scale. Now, in a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have shown that the fluctuations in pain severity that patients report can be tied to distinct patterns of activity in their brains. The goal of the research is...

New 'atlas' of a monkey brain maps 4.2 million cells

Scientists have revealed an unprecedented atlas of a primate brain that maps the organ in greater resolution than ever before, on the scale of single cells. The U.S.-based team used the latest molecular biological techniques to map the brain architecture of an adult rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), a monkey commonly...

Hormones that fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle might change the brain's structure, a new study suggests. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), reveals subtle changes in the brain structure of 30 women throughout their menstrual cycles. These changes matched up with fluctuations in...

Most detailed human brain map ever contains 3,300 cell types

Scientists just unveiled the largest and most detailed atlas of the human brain ever created. It details the arrangement and inner workings of 3,300 types of brain cells, only a fraction of which were previously known to science. The research was released Thursday (Oct. 12) in the form of 21...

Scientists discover new way humans feel touch

Humans have an attuned sense of touch that connects us to our surroundings, and now, scientists think they've discovered a previously unknown way that we use this sense. A new study has revealed that cells within the outer layer of our hair follicles, the tiny tubes in our skin that...

Musician's head injury triggered rare synesthesia, causing him to 'see' music

After a musician suffered a head injury in a motorcycle accident, something unusual happened: He began to see music and developed heightened creativity for a few months, according to a new report of the case. The man's traumatic brain injury (TBI) apparently caused him to develop synesthesia, a rare neurological...

Elon Musk's Neuralink 'brain chips' cleared for 1st in-human trials

Elon Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink has been given clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to carry out its first trials in humans, according to news reports. Neuralink aims to use its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology to restore movement in people with quadriplegia, meaning complete or partial paralysis...

Consciousness can't be explained by brain chemistry alone, one philosopher argues

The science of consciousness has not lived up to expectations. Over the summer, the neuroscientist Christof Koch conceded defeat on his 25-year bet with the philosopher David Chalmers, a lost wager that the science of consciousness would be all wrapped up by now. In September, over 100 consciousness researchers signed...

The brain has a 'tell' for when it's recalling a false memory, study suggests

Your brain activity changes depending on whether you're recalling a true or a false memory, new research suggests. A false memory refers to when you remember something that didn't happen or that actually occured at a different time or place. Remembering past events, experiences or information tied to a specific...

3D map plots human brain-cell 'antennae' in exquisite detail

Tiny, hairlike antennae protrude from the surface of brain cells, and now, scientists have unveiled a detailed map of these wires across the whole human cortex. They hope the new map will guide future research into a class of diseases that cause these structures to malfunction. The hairlike structures, known...